


When The Night Falls Quiet

by lilypea



Series: Ficmas 2014 [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2014-12-04
Packaged: 2018-02-28 04:53:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2719430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilypea/pseuds/lilypea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye has some time to think about the Christmases of her past, especially the good ones.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When The Night Falls Quiet

Skye sighed, her head resting on Ward’s bare chest as she watched the red digits of the clock glow in the dark room. It had just struck midnight. It was Christmas Day. She felt Ward breathing steadily beneath her. It was hard not to when they were crammed into the bed of his tiny bunk, but they made do. He always fell asleep first, anyway, still as a log. She was still so used to late nights that crept into the early morning that Ward’s attempts to even out her sleeping pattern still hadn’t stuck. 

As the numbers hovering in front of her changed to read 12:05, she let her thoughts wander, as she usually did when everyone else on the Bus was asleep and there was nothing else to be done. 

Christmas Day. For something that only happens once a year, without fail, it seemed to carry so much weight. She thought back to Christmases spent at the orphanage, gathering at the table to eat a shared dinner with all the other children, paper decorations they had all made hanging from the walls and the lopsided tree. She remembered Christmases with Miles, take-out, movies and slouching around his apartment, drinking.

She’d always envied the families on TV, caring for each other, always flashing their perfect, pearly-white smiles. She’d often wondered what she must have done to be deprived of that, no matter how unrealistic it often seemed. She’d yearned for Christmas Day to be a time that she didn’t feel like she had to dread. 

She pressed fast-forward in her mind, skipping through to two and a half years ago, being pulled roughly from her van and dumped on this plane, introduced to a whole new world, a whole new family. And as her eyes finally drooped, her head still firmly resting on Ward’s chest, she fell asleep with a smile on her face, thinking that finally, after all these years, she was excited for Christmas Day.

*** Two years earlier ***

Skye rolled over in her bed, her toe hitting something hard. Hissing an expletive, she sat bolt upright, finding a neatly wrapped box sitting on the floor. Leaning down to pick it up, she spotted the tag, which was clearly written in Coulson’s handwriting, and read; 

_To Skye_  
Happy Christmas  
From “Santa” 

She chuckled to herself. This was definitely something that Coulson would plan. She pulled on the gold ribbon, placing it on the bed next to her for safekeeping, and carefully undid the wrapping, finding a small white box underneath.

She opened it to discover a silver bracelet resting in red tissue paper, a note tucked in beside it.

_Don’t worry, this one doesn’t babysit._

She felt her eyes grow wet at the kindness of the gift. It wasn’t something she had ever expected. Fastening the item of jewellery around her wrist, she left her bunk to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. She found Ward and FitzSimmons gathered on the couches, talking excitedly about their gifts. A chorus of “Happy Christmas” greeted her as she joined them.

Ward was cradling a book that she’d never heard of before in his lap, while Fitz and Simmons were clutching new matching mugs full of tea. Fitz’s was decorated with a tasteful rendering of the periodic table, while Jemma’s was patterned with double helixes.

“What did you get, Skye?” Fitz asked her.

She rolled up her sleeve and held out her arm to show them her gift.

Jemma was instantly taken with it, commenting on how lovely it was.

“It fits right in where my Internet nanny used to be,” she commented fondly, twisting it around on her arm.

“Yes, but you’ll actually like wearing this one,” Ward replied, meeting her eyes and breaking into a quick, warm smile. For once, he seemed more familiar with her than just being her stony SO.

A mere five minutes later they were called out for a Christmas emergency and their festivities ground to a halt, but Skye made sure she thanked Coulson with a hug when she got the chance.

*** The following year ***

The cracker ripped in half, with the majority of it ending up in Skye’s hand, despite Ward’s advantage of strength. She poked him in the arm in victory and emptied out her winnings, being rewarded with a small plastic comb that looked as if it was designed for a guinea pig. Given that they were the cheapest Christmas crackers available, which they had picked up on their way into town, this wasn’t surprising.

They were all celebrating in a mostly empty diner they had found just near the Californian border, finally letting themselves indulge in Christmas after a hard day of work in the field. FitzSimmons were squished together on one side of a booth, chatting animatedly over cups of tea and sneaking small touches, as was the usual these days. May and Coulson were sat across from them. May almost looked relaxed, being able to talk to Coulson as her friend while pretending not to notice him stealing her chips.

Skye was sat at the bar, sipping her coffee, watching, with Ward on the stool beside her. She pulled her green paper hat onto her head, turning to Ward as she did so. 

“Ta-da!” she exclaimed.

“Very nice,” Ward replied, looking nervous all of a sudden. Skye reached over, placing a hand on his arm. He didn’t pull away.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he insisted with a shake of his head. “It’s just…. I got you something.”

Skye was a little taken aback. She’d known Ward long enough to know that he wasn’t the gift-giving type. “Ward, you didn't have to. I didn’t even get time to go out and get you anything. Being the queen of online shopping is a little useless when you don’t have a delivery address.”

“I know, Skye. I wasn’t expecting anything in return.” He pulled a tiny, festive gift bag out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her without making eye contact.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, pulling out a small parcel wrapped in tissue paper from inside. She peeled back the tape, unfolding it gently until she revealed a small silver charm, in the shape of a cell phone.

“They didn’t have a computer one,” she head him say beside her.

“No, Ward, it’s beautiful. I just… why?”

“I know I can be tough sometimes, and bad at discussing… feelings. I wanted to make it up to you. You work hard, Rookie. You deserve it.”

Skye jumped from her stool and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you so much,” she whispered into his ear. “Put it on for me?” she asked, stepping back.

Ward took the delicate charm in his right hand, and Skye’s wrist in his left, connecting the two pieces and clipping them together gently. He continued holding her hand, just above the palm, meeting her eyes, looking hopeful. She smiled at him in encouragement. 

They stayed that way until they were distracted by the friendly argument that had broken out at the table next to them, with Fitz insisting that trifle was _definitely_ the best Christmas dessert ever.

They all eventually piled into the SUV, May at the wheel, and drove back to the airfield, Skye and Ward sharing glances and everyone laughing at Coulson’s terrible jokes. When they boarded the Bus and said goodnight to each other, Skye and Ward didn’t need mistletoe to share a kiss in the dimly lit hallway.

*** Present day, Christmas morning ***

Skye was woken by Ward shuffling slightly beneath her. She instantly remembered what day it was, along with her thoughts of the night before, hooking her hands behind Ward’s head and pressing her lips to his.

“Wow, good morning,” he half-yawned, leaning back against the headboard.

“It’s Christmas.” Skye whispered it like an excited child, her nose still pressed up against Ward’s, breath mixing with his.

“Merry Christmas,” he said, kissing her cheeks, her forehead and her chin, down to the hollow of her neck. Skye giggled and pushed him back.

“Shall I go and make some festive coffees for us then?” he suggested.

“Yes! But wait here just a second.”

Ward’s brow furrowed as he heard his girlfriend jog up the hall to her own bunk and come speeding back, holding a festively wrapped package.

“Skye, I though we said we weren’t getting each other anything.”

“I know, I know. But you got me something last year, and that didn’t seem fair.”

Ward shook his head at her as he took the parcel, shaking against his ear, trying to determine what was inside.

“Just open it, dummy.”

He pried open the red and green paper to find a brand new edition of Yahtzee.

“I know it’s nothing really special, but I’m not that great with gifts and I figured it would be something fun we could do together.” She could feel him laughing as it vibrated through her legs.

“It’s great. I love it. Thank you.”

“I’m glad.”

“And I love you.”

Skye took the board game and placed in on the floor, lying down and snuggling her face into the crook of Ward’s neck.

“I love you too.”

“Wait, does this mean you’re bored of Battleship?”

“Oh, shh you. Don’t ruin the moment.”

Ward moved his fingers under the hem of his shirt that Skye had taken to sleeping in, rubbing her lower back. “Merry Christmas, Skye,” he told her, lips pressed against her hair.

“Merry Christmas, Grant.”

They both started to drift off again, figuring they deserved a lie in on Christmas morning, until Ward heard a whisper from next to him.

“I’m going to absolutely smash you at Yahtzee later.”

The rest of the team was woken by Ward chasing Skye around the bus in an attempt at payback by tickling.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I really enjoyed writing this one.


End file.
